Review: iOS 6 gets the spit and polish treatment

The name of the game is refinement.

It can be hard to remember that, five short years ago, many of us were still using feature phones while the rest had only the most basic (and now painfully outdated) smartphones—usually work-issued. But five years after the iPhone, Apple has released the sixth major version of its mobile operating system, and it is a study in subtle refinements. Apple has been previewing iOS 6 to the public since its WWDC conference in June, but we all know that seeing is believing. Does Apple's latest OS deliver the kind of improvements that Apple's existing and potential user base has come to expect?

After having used iOS 6 for several months from the beta period through the final release, our answer is a qualified yes. It's clear that Apple's current focus with iOS 6 is refinement rather than revolution, but we're not just talking about small refinements here; iOS is more robust than ever, with a few significant improvements to the kinds of things Siri can do, a complete overhaul of Maps, improvements in privacy controls, a far more useful Photo Stream, and new phone call and Do Not Disturb features. That's in addition to a generous helping of fixes and feature improvements sprinkled throughout the rest of the OS.

In this review, we'll focus on these major elements of iOS 6 and touch on some of the most important miscellaneous changes that will affect everyday users. We did the majority of our testing on an iPhone 4 and 4S, but iOS 6 runs on the iPhone (3GS, 4, 4S, and 5), iPad (2 and 3), and iPod touch (4th-gen and up). If you own (or plan to own) a compatible device, here's what you can expect from the new operating system.

Meet Siri: 2012 edition

It has now been almost a full year since Siri was first introduced to iOS. At launch, Apple's digital assistant was exclusive to the iPhone 4S, but Siri is now available on the third-gen iPad and the new iPhone 5. While I was only moderately impressed with Siri in 2011, Apple has added new capabilities to make it (her?) better in iOS 6. Among them: Siri can report back on live sports scores (or provide scores from the latest season's games, player stats, and team records) for football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and hockey.

Siri can check movie times, launch apps, and post directly to Facebook and Twitter. She can also make restaurant reservations through OpenTable (my personal favorite feature). Last year, my workaround for posting to Twitter with my voice using Siri involved sending a text message to Twitter's SMS service (40404), but the ability to post directly to the two social networks has been handy and works well. Posting to Twitter or sending text messages to friends by voice while I'm cooking or (ahem) driving is a great help, and I'm really pleased with how Apple has implemented this in iOS 6.

As before, if Siri needs more information from you, she will ask for it without requiring you to repeat the full request. For example, I could say, "make a reservation at Shaw's" and Siri will respond, "Okay, what time?" I only have to tell her, "Sunday at 7pm" for her to look up Shaw's on OpenTable and find out if openings are available at that time. When I tap on the result, it takes me to OpenTable's app to complete the reservation. But if the restaurant I'm trying to make a reservation at doesn't support OpenTable, Siri will suggest I call them instead and present the phone number onscreen so I can tap and go. (See the screenshots above for further context.) I've used it many times in the last several weeks for this purpose and I love it.

If you ever go to the bar side of Shaw's in Chicago, ask for Rafael. Tell him I sent you.

As for Siri's voice recognition capabilities, it feels like they have improved since the last time I sat down to seriously evaluate the software—either that or I have just improved my own interactions with Siri to make them more efficient, which is certainly possible. Either way, the ability to perform more voice-driven actions from a single screen has made Siri that much more valuable to the everyday user. When I spoke to a number of dedicated Siri users last November, some of them used the tech upwards of 20 times per day, so it's clear that at least some of Apple's user base has found ways to incorporate Apple's virtual "intelligent assistant" into their everyday lives. If the improvements aren't dramatic, they are at least useful additions.

Not the Maps you're looking for (or are they?)

Even more significant than Siri is the newly remade Maps app. For the first time since the iPhone's launch in 2007, Apple has rewritten its Maps application from the ground up after buying mapping companies C3, Poly9, and Placebase and then smashing their technology together to create something new.

Why would Apple do this? Aside from Apple's strained relationship with Google, the company may have wanted to offer something more than Google's own API could deliver. Poly9 was known for its "Poly9 Globe," a Flash-based knockoff of Google Earth, while C3 was known for its 3D mapping technology. PlaceBase's claim to fame was its PushPin API, offering richer data integration features than those offered by Google Maps. The strengths of all the firms compliment each other, and Apple believes its newest version of Maps is superior to the Google Maps-based version that many of us have been using for more than five years.

Indeed, Maps features many notable improvements. For one, the application finally (finally!) offers turn-by-turn driving directions that can be read aloud to you in Siri's voice. Any time you get directions between one point and another, the application can tell you the next step regardless of whether you're actively looking at the app; if your phone is asleep, it will awaken and read you the next step, then display the next direction on your lock screen when the time comes. (Verbal directions only apply to the iPhone 4S—when you use the feature on the iPhone 4, the phone will only display your directions on the screen.) The app will re-route automatically when you go off-course.

The turn-by-turn directions work largely as expected, though I did have one incident while driving to a place in the middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin in which Maps led me to the middle of a highway before declaring I had arrived at my destination. But in general, the directions have been quite beneficial while driving; no longer do you have to look at your iPhone or invest in a separate GPS app (or GPS hardware unit) in order to get the basic features offered by other solutions.

The 3D capabilities, on the other hand, feel a little less practical. While cool, they do less for me than some of the other features added to Maps. Your own city may not show up in 3D view until a later date. My city, however, does—I live in Chicago, apparently one of Apple's first priorities when it came to 3D rendering.

Gratuitous Chicago shot.

3D isn't totally useless. I tend to get lost easily and I don't have a very good sense of direction, so being able to see the actual buildings—in their full 3D glory—before getting to them in real life can be a help. You can change the angle at which you're viewing the 3D map, too, which is a nice touch. Here, you can see the attention to detail given to this app, as driving directions even flow between buildings and under trees:

You can get driving directions in 3D view, and the lines will even flow in between the buildings.

My favorite new part of Maps, however, has nothing to do with 3D view or driving directions. What I like are the enhanced business listing pages with Yelp ratings, photos, and more.

In addition to providing useful contextual information about a restaurant or business—things like reviews and photos—the listing page also shows you their open hours (THANK CTHULHU). Since this is just about the number one reason anyone goes to a restaurant's website or Yelp page from a mobile phone, this is a huge help.

Need some home beer brewing supplies in Chicago? Maps has robust business listings that can tell you everything you want to know about BrewCamp.

What's not in the new Maps is public transit directions. Google's API wasn't perfect, but transit directions were supported in many cities. As a city dweller who drives little, 9.9 out of every 10 times I use Maps is for public transit (transfer here, get off there)—not just in my own city, but whenever I'm traveling. I have virtually no reason to use Maps otherwise in my daily life, which is why its sudden absence in iOS 6 is deeply disappointing.

The button with a bus icon remains when you try to get directions—that's because Apple says it is opening up transit directions to third parties. At this writing, no apps were available to test the system, though some are in development. During the time I tested iOS 6, I ended up using Google Maps' mobile site in order to get from point A to point B via public transit—it works, but it's not the most enjoyable mobile experience (you have to re-enter your request for directions every time you leave and come back to Safari; under the old Maps, it would remember these parameters when you came back to the app).

I have confidence that some third-party developers will deliver on the transit end—at least here in Chicago, where I know some of them personally. But this may not be the case in every city, and not every app may be good or usable. One thing's for sure: the experience between cities won't be consistent. This is why I'm concerned about the usability of Maps in the long term; I think Apple risked alienating a huge chunk of the world's iOS-using population by going this route, but I keep my fingers crossed that it will work out in the end—or that Google will release its own Maps app for iOS, one that works more smoothly than its mobile site.

I must admit the Maps bit doesn't seem anywhere near as useful as what is offered via Google's implementation. That birds eye 3D view may look 'cool' but unless I'm flying a helicopter I'd much rather have solid 2D graphics augmented with Street View. The lack of public transport info and reliance on Yelp(!) doesn't help either. Hopefully Google will provide their superior map technology as a freely installable app soon.

So *compared to other iOS* versions it's more refined, but it's still lagging behind it's competitors (Android and Windows Phone). Also, that UI needs a major refresh. It's inconsistent at times (not talking about themes, within the default theme itself), and to be honest, just needs some spicing up. It's kind of bland. Bland isn't always bad, but iOS in 2012 just lacks that "wow" factor, but while also managing to be pleasing to the eye.

While I'm an Android user, I really like the look of Windows Phone. Android is pretty nice too (only counting ICS/JB since they're the latest, and let's compare latest with latest regardless of install-base to be fair when discussing "refinements"). If Apple could cook up something more modern that would be nice. I most definitely would not make the move to iOS based on appearance alone, the OS is just to closed for me, but I'm sure iPhone users would appreciate it.

You don't need to tell me about themes. I mean something more fundamental than just themes.

Much like OS X's move from Leopard to Snow Leopard, iOS 6 refines many of the major changes introduced in iOS 5.

That's a curious comparison. Wouldn't a more modern and relevant comparison be the Lion -> Mountain Lion upgrade?

FWIW, this was a comparison that one of our other editors made. That said, I don't think it's very much like Lion -> Mountain Lion. I see iOS 6 is being a refinement on top of iOS 5. I don't see Mountain Lion as being a refinement on top of Lion, personally. I see it as much different.

I must admit the Maps bit doesn't seem anywhere near as useful as what is offered via Google's implementation. That birds eye 3D view may look 'cool' but unless I'm flying a helicopter I'd much rather have solid 2D graphics augmented with Street View. The lack of public transport info and reliance on Yelp(!) doesn't help either. Hopefully Google will provide their superior map technology as a freely installable app soon.

Agreed completely on this. The 3D stuff is fun but it's not very practical. I'd prefer to have built-in transit back.

When you tell the iPhone to remind you about a return call, the caller immediately gets shunted to voicemail, while you are presented with a couple of extra options: a reminder in one hour or a reminder whenever you leave your current location.

Are you sure that they get shunted to the voicemail immediately? That would make it obvious to the caller that you're actually at your phone and ignoring them. The better way would be to continue to let the caller think the phone is still ringing and then direct them to voicemail - like "ignore" does now.

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Under Safari, for example, there are now icons for things like Mail, Message, Twitter, Facebook, adding a link to your home screen, printing, copying, bookmarking, and adding to your reading list. (See screenshot above.)

It wouldn't surprise me if, in the future, Apple takes a leaf out of Android and allows a limited (mind you) number of intents which could then be represented in this list by the name of the app and it's icon (eg. Open in Chrome, with the Chrome logo) when you tap on a URL.

Nice to have a lavishly-illustrated overview to read while my phone takes its sweet time to download the update! Just a quick note that the AE/AF lock is definitely in iOS 5 on my 4S – I use it all the time. It does further make the point that discoverability of the feature is somewhat lacking

I don't want to hear the "iOS is lagging behind Android" parroting until Android has things like AirPlay, lock screen notifications, message threading in the IMAP/POP mail client, full cloud backup, etc, etc all baked into the OS. They're both good operating systems that have some different features. I guess my only point is it's not quite as one sides as the fanboys (either way) would like you to believe.

One thing I am curious about is whether Siri is any more reliable (versus useful). As recently as a couple of months ago, people were saying that Siri was still suddenly dropping the connection or otherwise being unreliable (e.g., the service is not available now). (Not related to Siri understanding the speaker or to unusual results.)

Or is there any earlier indication that Siri's service isn't available? A couple of friends have been frustrated by that part. They'd dictate a longish text message, but not find out until the end that the service wasn't available.

The changes to maps look like they might enable me to move to the platform from Android, finally. What's the status of IM apps/services on iOS? I'd hate to lose Google Talk, but at this point I might be willing to do it, since no Android device maker has come out with a decent handset in about two years.

Nice to have a lavishly-illustrated overview to read while my phone takes its sweet time to download the update! Just a quick note that the AE/AF lock is definitely in iOS 5 on my 4S – I use it all the time. It does further make the point that discoverability of the feature is somewhat lacking

Yes, thanks. I removed that from the review and added a note. I also added some new stuff about Panorama.

I don't want to hear the "iOS is lagging behind Android" parroting until Android has things like AirPlay, lock screen notifications, message threading in the IMAP/POP mail client, full cloud backup, etc, etc all baked into the OS. They're both good operating systems that have some different features. I guess my only point is it's not quite as one sides as the fanboys (either way) would like you to believe.

Well, I do think your requirements are either already present in Android or just an app away . I can share videos using Plex or DLNA on Android (admittedly Plex is not baked into the OS but more usable as it's client/server agnostic). My S3 lockscreen shows notifications (amongst many other things). Message threading? Not sure, but gmail client does that well enough. Full cloud backup? Yeah, pretty sure that's been there for a while with Android. Added bonus of no outages so far. Not trying to be 'fanboyish' btw. iOS 6 looks like a nice iterative update for Apple.

I don't want to hear the "iOS is lagging behind Android" parroting until Android has things like AirPlay, lock screen notifications, message threading in the IMAP/POP mail client, full cloud backup, etc, etc all baked into the OS. They're both good operating systems that have some different features. I guess my only point is it's not quite as one sides as the fanboys (either way) would like you to believe.

Airplay = Juice appLock screen notifications = Handcent appIMAP / POP Threading = Problem for Android (wish it had it)Full Cloud backup = Most info is backed up via Google account (only small portions are missed like home screen layout and such. This can be overcome by rooting and creating Nandroid backups.)

Also - Find My iPhone now has a match in Android

I find that there is less and less difference between any of the mobile OS's these days.

Nice review. Do Not Disturb is probably my favorite new feature also, followed closely by the automatic reply options when receiving a call.

You didn't touch on two changes that will be immediately obvious to a lot of users - the revamped App Store and Music app. The App Store is significantly better - a nicer UI, it doesn't kick you out of the app when you start downloading something, and, best of all, it doesn't keep pestering you for a password to update apps. That was an area where UX really suffered in comparison to Android, so it's nice they fixed it.

The Music app is mostly just a cosmetic refresh. I could take or leave the new light gray theme; I liked the black one just fine. They also removed the iCloud icon from individual songs for iTunes Match users (it's still present for the album as a whole). I liked the ability to see at a glance what music I have stored locally - there's an option that will toggle the view between local music only/local + cloud, but it's buried in Settings. But, from talking to non-techie friends, the download icons on each song may have caused more confusion than they were worth.

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I refused to use Photo Stream without the ability to delete photos, so I am thrilled to finally have this ability with iOS 6.

Full cloud backup? Yeah, pretty sure that's been there for a while with Android. Added bonus of no outages so far. Not trying to be 'fanboyish' btw. iOS 6 looks like a nice iterative update for Apple.

iCloud backup is full in that it restores *everything*, right down to home screen/folder layouts. Android backup does miss some things like that, though it's not as a big a deal as it is on iOS, where you don't have an app drawer to handle a lot of the organization for you.

I'm looking forward to installing iOS 6 on my iPad (3rd generation/"new") but I'm taking a wait and see approach for my iPhone 4. Performance and battery life degradation on the older hardware are my primary concern... I'm not in any rush to get new Maps.

Review of the Review:

Great review. I like the touch of personality (like the photo caption for Shaw's) in the review that makes for a fun read without relying on snarky cynicism that pops up so often elsewhere.

Full cloud backup? Yeah, pretty sure that's been there for a while with Android. Added bonus of no outages so far. Not trying to be 'fanboyish' btw. iOS 6 looks like a nice iterative update for Apple.

iCloud backup is full in that it restores *everything*, right down to home screen/folder layouts. Android backup does miss some things like that, though it's not as a big a deal as it is on iOS, where you don't have an app drawer to handle a lot of the organization for you.

OK fair point. I'm so used to using apps like titanium backup and nandroid to keep a copy on the phone or in dropbox etc, but having the whole phone image backed up on Apple's servers sounds useful.

The changes to maps look like they might enable me to move to the platform from Android, finally. What's the status of IM apps/services on iOS? I'd hate to lose Google Talk, but at this point I might be willing to do it, since no Android device maker has come out with a decent handset in about two years.

I use Verbs. Works fine with AIM and GTalk, can remain online in the background.

"(Verbal directions only apply to the iPhone 4S—when you use the feature on the iPhone 4, the phone will only display your directions on the screen.)"

This and some other things about iOSx annoy me immensely. Apple leaves away features on hardware that is perfectly capable of executing them, just to make you want to buy their new stuff. My old TomTom is I think not even half as powerful as my iPhone 4 but perfectly capable of telling me what to do whilst driving to my destination. I don't believe for a minute that my iPhone 4 is unable to do that when using Apple Maps because of hardware limitations.

It wouldn't surprise me if, in the future, Apple takes a leaf out of Android and allows a limited (mind you) number of intents which could then be represented in this list by the name of the app and it's icon (eg. Open in Chrome, with the Chrome logo) when you tap on a URL.

Not the future, it's here today. In iOS 6, an app can define an “activity” that will appear among the icons when you want to share an item. For instance, a social media app can put its icon in the sharing sheet just like Facebook and Twitter. If the activity needs user interaction, it can also display a view inside the the other app.

I haven't tried this myself, I've just been scanning the docs. Apple hasn't announced this feature, probably because it does nothing until developers update their apps.

Full cloud backup? Yeah, pretty sure that's been there for a while with Android. Added bonus of no outages so far. Not trying to be 'fanboyish' btw. iOS 6 looks like a nice iterative update for Apple.

iCloud backup is full in that it restores *everything*, right down to home screen/folder layouts. Android backup does miss some things like that, though it's not as a big a deal as it is on iOS, where you don't have an app drawer to handle a lot of the organization for you.

OK fair point. I'm so used to using apps like titanium backup and nandroid to keep a copy on the phone or in dropbox etc, but having the whole phone image backed up on Apple's servers sounds useful.

Making a Nandroid backup and uploading it to Dropbox does the exact same thing, but gives you even more control than iCloud ever could. The only trade-off is that it's not a fully automatic process (but even so, a layman could do it, it's really not that difficult at all). But I'm sure with Android being so open this functionality will inevitably be added in some way by someone very soon (and hell, might already be unbeknownst to me).

I like being able to have an extra micro SD card in my phone for such backup purposes so that these images are all available locally whenever I need them, independent of the cloud, without taking up my main internal memory (16GB on the GSII). This is one thing that the iPhone 5 severely lacks.

I'm actually quite happy with the new maps interface. I went out to a Koeran restaurant this past weekend and the place couldn't come up in google maps but it came up in the new iOS 6 apple maps (via yelp). I was really surprised.